Another rural hospital is downsizing operations from patient, emergency and long-term care services to an ambulatory and outpatient model.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Bradford Regional Medical Center submitted a formal closure notice to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to transition the Kaleida Health facility to a model that will continue to provide essential services for the community with a focus on primary care and specialty clinics. “Federal funding cuts and long-standing financial pressures across the healthcare industry have accelerated the challenges we face and the decisions we are considering or have already made,” said Don Boyd, president and CEO of Kaleida Health.

In a news release, hospital officials said the region’s declining population and severely reduced patient census that was already minimal in 2019 combined to create financial losses averaging $10.1 million each year since 2021.The transition is expected to be completed in the summer, pending Pennsylvania Department of Health approval.

Officials said the closure notice primarily affects the 20-bed inpatient unit, where the average daily census is fewer than one patient per day in 2026 and inpatient utilization has declined by 73% since 2019. Due to regulatory limitations, the notice must also include the emergency department and certain hospital-based services as well as The Pavilion, Bradford Regional Medical Center’s 95-bed long-term care facility.

The patient census at The Pavilion is 54, and with two other long-term care options in Bradford and six others in the area, it’s anticipated these patients will be able to smoothly relocate for continued care.

Affected employees among 238 working on the campus will have opportunities to transition into positions within Kaleida Health. Kaleida Health will work with all patients and residents to ensure a safe and seamless transition of care.

Last year, Kaleida Health launched a $200 million strategic plan designed to enhance patient care, strengthen the organization’s long-term sustainability and expand access to the care and services our community needs most. Under this strategic plan, facilities whose services are not utilized as they once were, and therefore face revenue declines, must be evaluated as part of the whole system’s needs and sustainability.

“This $200 million plan gives us the opportunity to evaluate and reimagine how and where we provide the care and services our communities need most while doing so in the most efficient and effective way,” Boyd said. “Like other healthcare organizations, we must adapt and find innovative ways to move forward and continue delivering exceptional care.”

Pending Pennsylvania Department of Health approval, Bradford hospital anticipates continuing operation of its primary care offices and select specialty outpatient clinics, including cardiology, medical oncology, pediatrics, general surgery and wound care, orthopedics and sports medicine, occupational health, women’s health, urology and a lab draw station.

Within the last decade, rural hospitals have faced growing pressures due to the changing landscape facing health care. In January, Warren General Hospital announced it would suspend inpatient labor and delivery procedures.

Before that, in January 2025, Allegheny Health Network and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Chautauqua County announced its move to a “rural emergency hospital” designation, meaning it will seek to transition from a small inpatient hospital to 24/7 emergency, observation and outpatient care hospital that meets specific criteria established by U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the New York state Department of Health.

That conversion provides greater reimbursement certainty, ensuring its long-term financial and operational stability going forward, and protecting care access for its patients in Westfield and the surrounding Chautauqua County region. Designated rural emergency hospitals (REH) are eligible for additional federal funding and higher Medicare reimbursement rates.

A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, found that 146 hospitals in rural U.S. counties closed or were converted to non-acute care between 2005 and 2023. Of the 146, 81 shut down completely. The others underwent “conversion,” a term that describes when a hospital stops providing inpatient services but still offers services such as primary and outpatient care or treatment of emergency cases.